The Family - God's Creation Series

That is not merely philosophical, it is Biblical!

1. COVENANT -

The idea of marriage as an unbreakable covenant is almost extinct, replaced by the concept of a social contract. Some people view marriage as nothing more than a convenient means of creating an economic partnership or as a means of having a sexual partner! Increasing numbers are simply discarding the notion of forming a family by marriage, choosing instead to just live together.

2. FAMILY -

Our culture has radically re-defined what it means to be a family, too. If one holds to the Biblical concept of family as being “one man, one woman - committed to each other before God for life” - that person risks being attacked as a bigot. We are told that a family consists of people of any combination who are living in a ‘loving relationship with commitment for the long term.’

Some of you are thinking, ‘so what’s wrong with that?’

It does not meet God’s definition. It is a partial definition, but very incomplete. Arising from that broad definition, we now have ‘two Mommy families; two Daddy families...’ etc. It is not my intent to question the love that may be a part of such arrangements, but they are not families in the Biblical sense.

Consider this ancient text - inspired by God, that reveals to us the Creator’s definition and purposes for the family.(Genesis 2:15-24, NIV)

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

So what do we learn from this account? Much! Nearly every New Testament word about the family references this passage in one way or another, as the inspired writers read this as a the basic statement of God’s design for humanity - male and female, committed to each other, for life; no longer distinct, but becoming a new ‘one!’

The first thing we learn is that God Himself created the complement for man, when He made woman!